Brassiere



Jan. 22, 1952 o, sABlN f 2,583,445

BRASSIERE Filed March 14, 1949 Jan. 22, 1952 l Q, vA SABlN 2,583,445

BRASSIERE Filed March 14, 1949 srmE'rs-smz'r 2 Patented Jan. 22, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT 2,583,445 BRASSIRE Olive Ada Sabin, London, England annie-@tien March .14, 1949.,` Serial No. 81.262

" In Greet Britain March 19 .1941i ,f

straps there is a tendency for the material of the brassire between the breasts to stand awar7 from the iigure or span the hollow over the sternurn. Furthermore, although many expedients have been employed to afford` the so-called uplift, including skeleton bands under the material of the cups or covering,` there is still room for improvement.

rihe aim of the present invention is to provide improvements whereby the desired uplift may be imparted to the under bust zones of the cups while at the same time the material of the brassire or any part passing over the sternum follows the contour of the ligure and lies snugly within the sternum hollow.

The invention consists in a brassire formed with a slot, gap or incision (hereinafter cal-led gap) separating or partially separating the cups above the base line, and tension means obliquely spanning said gap and transmitting-a component of the pull of each shoulder strap to the under bust Zone of the opposite cup.

The above arrangement may include the modication of transmitting the pull ofK each shoulder strap additionally to the under bust zone of the cup to which the shoulder strap is attached.

In the accompanying diagrammatic drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation of a brassire according to the invention,

Figure 2 is a front elevation showing the invention applied to a brassire wherein the breast cups yare joined by overlapping triangularportions,

Figures 3 and 4 are front elevations of forms of the invention hav-ing additional elastic bail means associated with the gap tensionmeans;

and i Figure 5 is a front elevation of a brassire in which means are provided for inducing anupward pull at the outer zonesvv of the breast cups;

4 In carrying the invention into eiiect according to one mode as described by-wayl of examplepsee Figure l, the improved brassire is formed with breast cups l, 2 of any known type and may have the underv bust zone reinforcedV by anadditional layer of fabric or stitching; extendingfrom` side e claims. (c1. 29,42)l

to side and'adjoining the base line on band 3. At the junction between the cups l, 2 a gap 4 is provided which extends downwardly from the upper point 5 of the junction about halfway to the band 3. The gap 4 isofA open square or diamond form, with one diagonal' extending horizontally and the other vertically- The opposite sides da, 4b and llc,` #df off this gap are connected togetherV by one ormore elastic tapes or bands and l, respective1-y, so that a pull exerted' on the upper side of said gap on on the adjacent upper bust portion or zone le or- 2a is transmitted to the opposite side of the gap 4' and to the under bust portion or zone 2b or tb or the other cup.

. The shoulder straps 8- are attached to the highest or mid point of the upper bust portions or zones la and 2a by stitching inthe usual man-ner orby means of pulley-like rings and tapes. or in any other suitable way'.

The gap between the bust cups may extend downwardly to the band 3 or it may extend' upwardly from the band and terminate at a point spaced from the upperpoint 5 so that the cups are connected adjacent saidpoint 5.

- The invention may-be similarlyy applied to those rassires, see Figure 2, comprising a pairof triangular shaped or folded piecesY of` material 9 and It) whichv overlap at- Hj between the breasts or over the sternum. Inthi's formV of brassire the portion towards the meeting ofthe upperpart Yof the overlapping pieces has anincision which forms a gap l2 firalvimgf-y straight sides I3. I4 and a downwardly directed point formed by sides l5, l5. This gap |-2- istraversed Icy-elastic` members4 I, It connected respectively to sides M, I5 and I3;V It,` These-mmebers I=1=, I8 transmit a component of; the pull or each shoulder 'strap I9 to the opposite underbustl portion or zone of the brassire cups 9'4 and IU after thel manner described above.

In the above forms the elasticmembers l` and l, igu-reV l, and Il; and I-Bf', AFigi-1re` 2, may be replaced by inelastic tapes or bands, and elasticity, where required, :nay-be; introduced at the shoulder strap or ina connection thereto, forA example in place oi-l directly'connecting--the elastic mem-- bers or inelastic member-s travel-singA the gap 4" or I2 to the upperbust portionoir-zone, these members may be connectedi bya tape or band to the shoulder strap connection, eitheruna-ttached or caught to the upper bust portion.

lin carrying the invention intoeiect accordingto anotherfmode,A see Figure 3; as `applied to a brassire having a diaphragm band 20- andr preferably having? reinforcedi under bust zones i 3 2l, 22 the gap 23 in this case may extend upwardly from the diaphragm band 20, terminating at a point 24 where the upper bust portions or zones 25, 26 are connected together so that the connecting material forms the top closure of the gap. To each of the reinforced under bust zones 2|, 22 bordering on the gap 23 a tab 2l of inelastic material is connected in such a way that it is directed towardsv the point of connection 28 of the shoulder strap 29 of the opposite cup and the end of each of these tabs 21 is stitched to a piece of elastic 30 which extends up to the shoulder strap connection and, down to the other side of the opposite cup, preierably at or about the junction between the upper edge of the reinforcement 2lV or 22 and the adjacent body section 3lor'32. Thus theV elastic member 30 forms a kind of bail or stirrup the mid point of which is connected to the'shoulder strap 29 while the'ends are, on the one hand, connected to an under bust tab 21 of the opposite breast cup and on the other hand to the outward side ofthe cup of the shoulder strap in question.

The shoulder strap connection may comprise a ribbon loop 33 attached to the mid point of the bail 3e at one end and at the other to the highest point 28 of the breast cup, the interven ing part of the ribbon passing through a pair of shoulder strap locking attachment rings 34 of known kind. It will be abserved that in this instance the components of pull of each shoulder strap 29 are transmitted obliquely to the upper bust zone of the opposite cup and to the under bust zone of the associated cup.

According to a modication of the last-described form of the invention, see Figure 4, the under bust portions 35 adjoiningthe gap 36 may be connected together by a short piece of elastic 3? threaded on a ring 38 which is also traversed by aband or bail 39 of elastic extending to the shoulder strap attachment and down to the outer sides of the under bust sections. This elastic 39 may, if desired, be a continuous piece, and the connection to the cups may be by means of a stirrup 40 passing pulleywise through the locking attachment rings.

The modes of carrying outthe invention described above have been confined to brassires in which the cups are connected above the base linevor band; the invention may, however. be carried into effect asapplied to those brassires which comprise separate cups mounted on a diaphragm band. In this case the pull of the shoulder straps is transmitted across the space separating the cups by an elastic or inelastic tape or band from the point of attachment of the shoulder strap of one cup to the under bust zone of the other cup. Thesev tapes or bands pass obliquely across the brassire and will cross one another in the space between the cups. The crossing bands may be extended stirrupwise to support the outer sides of the under bust zone of the cups, or separate tapes or bands may be connected to the outer `sides of said zones and to the point of attachment of the shoulder straps. In each case described above where elastic material is specied, it will be appreciated that inelastic material may be used ln substitution and any givev or extension necessary may be provided elsewhere.

n carrying the invention into effect according to a further form see Figure 5, the breast cups 4I, 42 are secured upon a diaphragm band 43 and at the regionV of their inner ends are cut away to form a. diamondshaped gap 44 which is spanned by pairs of elastic or inelastic straps 45, 46 similar to the form shown in Figure 1. The opening or gap 44 extends downwardly about halfway to the band 43 and from the lowest point of the diamond the edges 41, 48 of the cups overlap one another but are unconnected.

At the meeting zones of the back panels 49 and the cups 4 l, 42, slots or gaps 50 are provided which extend downwardly about half way to the band 43.

Each slot or gap 59 is spanned by a pair of elastic or inelastic straps 5l the ends of which are connected to the opposed edges 52, 53 oi' the cup and back panel.

The straps 5l may lie side by side and substantially parallel with the band 43 or may incline upwardly towards the breast cups.

A single strap or more than two may bridge the gap 59, or the gap 50 may be completely filled by an elastic insert.

With this form of the invention there is provided a more direct pull from the shoulder straps 54 to the outer side of the lower bustA portion of the cups to improve the uplift characteristic.

It is to be noted that in cutting out or designing a garment according to Figure 5, the warp and weft of the fabric are arranged so that the pull from the shoulder straps 54 to the lower part of the cup in the region of the back panel takes place along the warp (or weft) indicated by the lines 55 as the case may be, and not necessarily along the edge 56 whichmay or may not conform to the line 55 depending upon the depth of the back panels 49.

In some circumstances the slot 59 may extend downwardly into the under bust zone.

Where the bust cups are each made in one piece with a centre dart, a piece of suitable size may be cut away from each cup adjacent the upper vend of the back panel to form the slot 50.

Instead of a narrow attached shoulder strap, the strap may form an integral narrowing part of the bust cup.

Where a diaphragm band is employed the construction can be embodied as the brassire section of a combined corset and brassire called a corselette.y Y

I claim:

l. A brassire or like garment comprising a pairof bust supporting members operatively connected together at their inner ends; each member having shoulder strap means, each said member being cut cut at the upper part of its inner end, said cut outs combining to form a gap having edges on one member opposed to edges on the other member, tension means spanning said gap and comprising superposed crossed elastic strips, the ends of each strip being secured to opposed edges of said gap and transmitting a component of the pull of each shoulder .strap to the under bust zone of the other member.

2. A brassire or like garment comprising a pair of bust supporting members operatively connected together at their inner ends, each member having shoulder strap means, each said member being cut out at the upper part of its inner end, said cut outs combining to form a gap having edges on one member opposed to edges on the other member, tension means spanning said gap and comprising superposed crossed pairs of elastic strips, the ends of the strip of each pair being secured to opposed edges of said gap and transmitting a component of the pull of each shoulder strap to the under-bust zone of the other member.

- 3v L brassireor likegarment as claimed inY claim 2, wherein the gap is of diamond shape with a vertical diagonal and a diaphragm band connecting the two said members.

4. A brassire or like garment as claimed in claim 1 wherein the-gap has upper substantially parallel edges and lower downwardly converging edges, the elastic strips being secured to a parallel edge and an opposed converging edge, said inembers being connected together by overlapping triangular portions.

5. A brassire or like garment as claimed in claim 2, wherein the two members have outer edges secured to back panels, the upper parts of said upper edges being cut out to form slots be tween the member and the associated back panel, said slots being spanned by elastic tension strips the ends of which are secured to the member and back panel, said members being connected together by a diaphragm band.

6. A brassire or like garment as claimed in claim 5, wherein each slot is spanned by a pair of elastic strips which lie substantially parallel to the diaphragm band.

OLIVE ADA SABIN.

nnFnRnNcns CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,885,742 Rose Nov. 8, 1932 2,654,985 Kunstadter Sept. 22, 1936 2,185,159 Rubinstein Dec. 26, 1939 2,202,058 Malnick May 28, 1940 2,248,300 Hay July 8, 1941 2,296,343 Glasser Sept. 22, 1942 2,470,847 Gluckin May 24, 1949 

